My hands trembled as I held onto Kongar and looked into his yellow eyes.
"Don't leave me," I whispered.
Kongar's eyes widened in surprise at my sudden movement, but then his gaze softened, and he smiled.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I'm here."
Then he lifted my hand to his face and kissed the back of it. This time, those strange tingles made my heart race.
What was happening to me?
At the sound of a growl, I quickly pulled my hand away from Kongar. When I looked at Arkan, I noticed that his teeth had grown longer. His gaze was fixed on the hand that had just been holding Kongar's. He stared at my now-empty hand, growling.
He was right… Something was wrong with me.
"I'm sorry—"
"Kongar will stay in the shelter with you, too," Arkan said. "That way, you'll be safer."
He had cut me off before I could apologize. But could I ever be forgiven for something like that?
I felt awful.
"Kayra, it's okay," Kongar said.
It wasn't okay.
There was definitely something wrong with me.
When I reached the shelter, I was surprised by how much the room had changed. The room had been beautifully arranged. A single bed had been placed in one corner, with a nightstand beside it. There was a mirrored wardrobe against the adjacent wall. There was even a rug on the floor. Although the rest of the room was empty, it was impressive that they had managed to prepare all of this in such a short time.
"Do you like it?"
I turned toward Arkan at the sound of his voice.
"It's beautiful," I said with a smile.
Arkan smiled back at me, then gave me a small kiss on the lips. I instinctively tensed at the sudden gesture and quickly looked around for Kongar. When I found him, I saw that his brows were furrowed. But as soon as he realized I was looking at him, his expression changed. He waved at me with a smile.
"I'm glad you like it," Arkan said. Then he turned to Kongar.
"Keep an eye on Kayra," he said, his jaw clenched. "If anything happens to her—"
"Don't worry," Kongar interrupted. "She's safer with me."
That was so cruel.
"Arkan," I said.
"I hope so," Arkan replied, then pressed a kiss to my forehead. After that, he left the shelter. The sound of the iron door closing plunged the shelter into silence.
I was in an enclosed space again. I felt my breathing growing irregular.
I flinched when Kongar wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm sorry for putting you through all this," he said.
Yes. He should be sorry. But could I forgive him?
I said nothing. He held me for a while before finally pulling away.
When I felt the air beginning to warm, I thought the sun might have risen. I didn't know whether vampires needed to sleep, but I wanted to. That way, I could escape this enclosed space, if only for a little while.
When I lay down on the bed, I felt as though I was being watched. Still, I ignored the feeling and closed my eyes.
---
I didn't know how I could sleep so peacefully in a place where I was alone with Kongar. Yet I felt quite refreshed. Except for one thing.
Hunger.
Even after feeding from Arkan, my hunger refused to subside. I constantly felt the urge to chew on things. Was that normal? I mean… Weren't vampires supposed to drink blood instead of chewing on things?
Noticing that I was awake, Kongar suddenly appeared beside me and sat down on the bed.
"Good morning," he said. "Or should I say good evening?"
And he smiled.
He had been smiling a lot lately. He used to smile when we first met, too, but back then, his smile had been unsettling. This one, though, was… warm.
I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts. I needed to pull myself together.
I froze when my stomach growled.
This was getting far too embarrassing.
"You must be hungry," Kongar said, lowering his collar to expose his neck. "You can drink."
What nonsense was he talking about?
Kongar didn't smell as good as Arkan. In fact, I couldn't smell anything at all. It was as if he had no scent. Besides, I had seen Prince Lucas drink his blood and then throw up.
"Thanks, but I'll pass," I said, waving my hand.
Kongar pulled his collar back up with an exaggerated gesture.
"Your loss," he said.
I'd rather miss out.
I flinched when someone knocked on the door.
"Kayra, are you decent? It's Alara."
What was Alara doing here?
"Come in," I said immediately, getting out of bed.
The iron door opened with an annoying screech. Then Alara stepped inside. She looked around the room first, then turned to Kongar.
"You're here, too?" she asked, her voice tense.
Kongar ignored Alara and suddenly appeared beside me. Alara, meanwhile, turned her gaze toward me.
"I'm glad you're okay," she said, wrapping her arms around me.
She had been very warm toward me ever since we first met, and I had started to feel close to her, too. Besides, she was the only woman in this world I had been able to form a bond with.
"I'm fine," I said, hugging her back.
But that was a mistake. Alara's heartbeat was deafening. Then my teeth started to itch. Strangely, I didn't want to drink blood; on the contrary, I wanted to chew on things.
Unable to control myself, I opened my mouth and was just about to sink my teeth into her neck when Alara suddenly disappeared.
She had actually disappeared.
When I looked around, I found her in Kongar's arms in the open area of the shelter.
"K-Kayra, what are you doing?" Alara asked.
What was I doing? I had no idea. But more importantly, what was Alara doing in Kongar's arms?
The thought filled me with anger. I was being ridiculous. But I didn't care. Kongar belonged to me.
"Stay away from Kongar!" I shouted, then rushed toward Alara, who was staring at me in shock.
As Alara's growl echoed through the shelter, she and Kongar disappeared again.
Was Kongar protecting Alara?
That only made me angrier.
"Kongar, let her go. Now!" I ordered.
As soon as I finished speaking, Kongar reappeared with Alara in his arms. Then he suddenly let her go. The abrupt movement caused Alara to fall onto her hip.
"What are you doing?" she shouted at Kongar.
But Kongar's gaze was fixed on me.
"Kayra," Kongar said. "You're not yourself."
He was right. I wasn't. But I couldn't stop myself. Seeing Alara in Kongar's arms had made me furious.
She was close to both Arkan and Kongar…
I shook my head to clear these thoughts. But the movement made my stomach growl again.
"Are you hungry?" Alara asked.
Yes. I was hungry.
"Let me tell Arkan," she continued. "Last I remember, he was in the kitchen."
The kitchen.
I quickly left the shelter to keep myself from doing anything else I didn't want to do. I heard Alara calling after me, but going back to her would be dangerous. I was both jealous of her and… I didn't even want to think about it.
What was happening to me?
When I reached the kitchen, I ran into the door, and the impact brought me to an abrupt stop. I was moving too fast, and I still couldn't fully control myself. Maybe that was something I needed to learn.
"Kayra," Arkan said. He was cutting meat on the counter.
Didn't he have a cook?
He must have noticed me staring at him in surprise, because he put down the knife and turned toward me.
"I find cooking relaxing," he said.
And I, while chewing—
Since when?
My gaze shifted to the bloody meat on the counter. Unable to control myself, I licked my lips.
"Kayra," Arkan said. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from the meat. "Are you okay?"
"No."
It was Kongar's voice. So he'd managed to leave that blonde behind.
Ah! What was I even thinking?
Kongar and Arkan were saying something, but I was only staring at the bloody meat. My pulse quickened, and my breathing grew irregular.
And I lunged at the meat.